betiko wrote:saxi, please a quick brief on these territories... what difference in status towards the us do they have?
-puerto rico
-us virgin islands
-american samoas
-guam
are these all about the same thing in terms of administration and aliegance? also, i might have skipped other terts, those came to mind
You forgot the Northern Mariana Islands. None of them have a different status from each other. They are all considered unincorporated territories, meaning they are property of the United States (colonies) but not part of the United States; in other words they could legally be sold or given independence if Congress wanted to do that. Montana and California are incorporated territories meaning they form part of the United States and are inseparable from it.
The three Associate States - the Republic of Palau, the Marshal Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia - are in a state of "free association" and can terminate their relationship with the United States whenever they want.